Taken

Bryan (Liam Neeson) is a retired Government Agent. He is at an electronics store and is carefully
choosing a karaoke device for his beloved 17-year-old daughter Kim's (Maggie Grace) birthday. As Bryan
arrives at a luxury mansion, Kim's mother Lenore (Famke Janssen) is very cold toward him, criticizing his
choice of a gift and that he has even showed in the first place. The daughter is extremely pleased with her
gift; however, she is soon distracted by her wealthy stepfather Stuart's (Xander Berkeley) gift of a large
horse. Later, Bryan is alone in his small modest apartment. Three friends, all also retired agents, drop by
for poker, steaks and beer. One of them, Sam (Leland Orser) invites Bryan to make some quick cash
working security with them by escorting a female pop star to her nearby concert. After her vocal warm-up
Bryan asks the pop star, Sheerah (Holly Valance) for advice to give his daughter who also wishes to be a
singer. Sheerah answers, "Tell her to pick another career." Bryan gets a phone call from Kim inviting him
to lunch. At the concert, things get anxious for a moment when security is distracted by a mob of fans
breaking through. Bryan escorts Sheerah away from the crowd, but is confronted with a knife-wielding
assailant that Bryan quickly takes down. As a "Thank You," Sheerah offers to help Bryan's daughter with
a vocal coach and a manager if she has any natural talent.

Bryan is very excited and plans to let Kim know about Sheerah's offer; however, Lenore comes to the
lunch also and it becomes clear he was invited only to sign the parental-consent form Kim needs to take a
vacation to Paris with her friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy). Bryan is reluctant to agree, knowing the
dangers of the wrong parts of Paris and feeling Kim is too young, but Kim explains she'll be staying with
Amanda's cousin's and spend most of her time in museums. Bryan says he will consider the matter, but
Kim takes it as a "no" and becomes very upset. Lenore tears into Bryan for being such an asshole and for
being too cautious. She wants their daughter to experience life. The next day, Bryan shows up at Stuart's
mansion with the signed consent, a pre-paid international cell phone, and some conditions: 1) Bryan must
take Kim to the airport; 2) Kim must call Bryan when she lands in Paris; and 3) Kim must call Bryan every
night to tell him the address and phone number of any new place at which she will be sleeping. At the
airport, as Bryan is retrieving Kim's luggage from the car, he sees a map of Europe with several cities
circled in a pocket of Kim's luggage. He confronts Lenore who admits that the girls are actually going to
follow the rock band U2 on their European tour, not just stay in Paris. Bryan is angry, but it is too late to
do anything about it.

In Paris, while standing in the line for a taxi at the airport, the two girls meet a friendly, handsome young
Parisian named Peter (Nicolas Giraud). He suggests they all share a taxi for the expensive ride
downtown. Amanda immediately accepts and Kim reluctantly agrees. While they wait, they have Peter
take their picture with Kim's phone. Chivalrous Peter has the taxi drop the girls off first. He invites them to
a party that very night and Amanda eagerly accepts. As the taxi pulls away, Peter makes a quick phone
call--he simply says "Two girls, about 18" and the address of the apartment. Upstairs, Kim inquires where
the cousins are at. Amanda breezily announces the cousins are on vacation in Spain and giggly
announces as she jumps on the couch that she plans to have sex with Peter later on.

Back in the US, a concerned Bryan checks the arrival information and learns that Kim's plane has landed.
Bryan attempts to call Kim's phone; however, Amanda has cranked the music in the apartment to such a
volume that neither girl hears Kim's phone ring. Finally, Bryan gets hold of Kim. Kim walks around to the
other side of the loft (shaped like a square with a courtyard in between) to get away from the loud music.
While they talk, Kim can see Amanda through the windows across the courtyard. As she talks to her dad,
she sees two men grab Amanda and carry her away from view while Amanda kicks and fights. Panicked,
Kim tells Bryan what she just saw. Bryan immediately takes control and orders her to go into the nearest
bedroom and hide under the bed. Guiding her with a careful series of questions, he learns that Kim and
Amanda shared a cab with a man named Peter. Kim thinks she saw three or four man take Amanda.
"Now," he tells her, "the next part is very important ... they are going to take you." Bryan tells her that she
must leave her phone on, and she will have five to ten seconds to scream out any description of them she
can. Bryan hooks up a tape recorder to his phone. Two men enter the bedroom and are puzzled they
haven't found the second girl. They converse in a strange foreign language. Bryan tells Kim to hold the
phone towards the men so he can hear their conversation. The two men appear to have left the room and
Kim is relieved and tells her dad they left, when suddenly Kim is snatched from under the bed. Following
Bryan's instructions, she screams out, "Beard! Six Feet! Tattoo, right hand, moon and star!" Bryan hears
her scream for a few more seconds, then, after a moment of quiet, Bryan hears heavy breathing. Bryan
tells the kidnapper, "I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I
can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired
over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go
now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I
will find you, and I will kill you.". . . the kidnapper responds with a thick accent, "Good luck,".

Bryan sends the taped conversation to Sam, his ex-agency friend from the concert. Bryan then storms
over to Stuart's, his wife's second husband, and confronts him about possible business enemies of Stuart
arranging Kim's kidnapping. Stuart and Lenore are surprised about how much of Stuart's business Bryan
knows. Bryan is satisfied that Stuart's business affairs are not the source of the problem, and he tells
Stuart he needs a private jet to Paris "an hour ago." Bryan searches Kim's room and all her personal
possessions for possible clues. Meanwhile, he is on speaker phone with Sam so Lenore can hear. Sam
provides a detailed report that identifies the language as Albanian and he even narrows the accent down
to a specific town in Albania. Their leader's name is Marko and he is a very powerful figure. Sam tells him
that the Albanians kidnap girls for prostitution and Bryan has, at most, 96 hours (four days) before Kim
will disappear forever.

On the private jet, Bryan plays the recording of Kim's abduction over and over again, committing every
sound to memory. In Paris, Bryan first gains access to the girl's apartment. He visualizes the abduction
from the clues left behind at the scene and finds and recovers the memory card from Kim's smashed
cellphone which is adjacent to the bed under which Kim tried to hide. At a do-it-yourself photo kiosk,
Bryan finds the picture Peter took at the airport and zooms in on a reflection of Peter in the photo. At the
airport, Peter is using the same "share a taxi" line with a Swedish blonde. Bryan assaults Peter to find out
about the girls from yesterday; however a large man, Peter's accomplice, tries to stop Bryan. As Bryan
fights off the large man, Peter runs away. Bryan disposes of Peter's accomplice and gives chase stealing
the taxi cab. Peter runs into traffic and Bryan jumps out of the taxi and chases Peter on foot. Peter then
jumps over the overpass and seemingly lands safely when a truck hits and kills him.
Bryan then meets with an old acquaintance named Jean-Claude, who is with French Intelligence, to ask
for help. The Frenchman tells Bryan where the Albanian-pimped hookers are located, but warns Bryan to
stay out of it and to not cause any problems. As Bryan leaves, Jean-Claude sets up a tail to follow him.
After getting a rental car, Bryan meets with an Albanian interpreter whom he's hired at the hooker area,
first telling him to wait in the car. Bryan then deliberately wastes a prostitute's time so her pimp will come
over to rough up the mild-mannered Bryan and demand some money. Bryan then slyly plants a listening
device on the pimp. Back in the car, Bryan has the interpreter listen to the audio feed from the bug and
translate the Albanian conversation. They talk about having trouble with some new merchandise at a
nearby construction site. Bryan excuses the interpreter, but not before getting the Albanian-English
dictionary he had asked him to bring.

At the construction site, there is a long line of men waiting to get into a trailer. Bryan acts like a customer
and joins the line. When Bryan reaches the head of the line, he hands the "doorman" his money and
receives a scrap of paper with a single digit on it. Inside the trailer ropes have been strung with blankets
draped over them to form 'rooms' on either side of a center aisle. As Bryan walks down the aisle, he looks
into each 'room.' Bryan enters one 'room' and finds a cot with a drugged woman lying on it. She isn't Kim.
She beckons him to come to her, but, instead, he starts pulling more blankets aside to check the other
'rooms.' Since each room has a customer, this invasion of privacy starts a ruckus. Bryan has to deal with
a few bouncers as he makes his way along the length of the trailer. In the last room, Bryan sees his
daughter's jacket and a drugged woman with hair like Kim's. Rushing in, he finds it isn't Kim. Bryan tries
to question this woman, but she is so drugged she can't talk. So Bryan carries her to a nearby Jeep, hot-
wires the ignition, and, after a wild chase, makes his escape from a swarm of angry Albanians. He drives
to a quiet out-of-the-way hotel and rents two rooms from the owner (another old acquaintance). In one of
the rooms, Bryan rigs up an IV drip and injects the girl with a solution, beginning an ultra-rapid detox of
her system.

Later, Jean-Claude demands a meeting with Bryan out in the open by the river. When Jean-Claude
arrives, his cell phone rings. It is Bryan saying he doesn't trust meeting Jean-Claude (until he gets Kim
back). Jean-Claude says his boss hit the roof over the construction site violence. While the boss wanted
Bryan arrested, Jean-Claude has convinced him to authorize instead a ticket to send Bryan back to
America, "for previous services." Bryan refuses. Meanwhile, Jean-Claude's men have been triangulating
the source of Bryan's phone call and a squad of men burst onto a nearby rooftop. There they find a cell
phone rigged with a walkie-talkie. Bryan is actually on another roof nearby. Bryan walks away easily.

The girl comes back to consciousness and tells Bryan she got the jacket from another girl. All she can
remember is it was at a house with red doors on the rue Paradis. Bryan finds the house with the red
doors, walks in bold and confident, and presents Jean-Claude's business card as his own. Bryan is led
past several thugs to a dirty kitchen. Four Albanians are seated around a table. Bryan tries to ascertain
who is the leader, but they all claim to be Marko and all from the town that Bryan's language expert had
identified. Bryan tells them that their former police contact, Mr. Macon, had been transferred and now he
(Bryan as Jean-Claude) will be collecting the bribes, the rate for which has just gone up. After some hard
bargaining, a deal is struck and Bryan thinks he has identified the figure from Kim's phone. But, before he
leaves, Bryan stops and says a friend gave him a note in Albanian. He hands it to the apparent leader
and asks him to translate it. The leader (the real Marko) responds "Good Luck." Bryan recognizes
Marko's voice immediately and says to him, "You don't remember me do you? ... I told you I was going to
find you," and, suddenly Bryan is shooting and fighting the house full of armed men. When the smoke
clears, Bryan has killed all of them but Marko. Bryan searches for Kim in all the upper bedrooms of the
building. He finds several women handcuffed to beds and Amanda's dead body (apparently dead due to a
drug overdose). Bryan tortures Marko with electricity. After trying to tough it out, Marko tells Bryan Kim
was sold to a man named Saint Clair. Bryan then turns the power back on and leaves Marko screaming in
agony.

Jean-Claude comes home for supper to discover Bryan is visiting like an old friend. Jean-Claude's wife,
Isabelle, tells Jean-Claude to put the two kids to bed. As he does, he recovers a pistol from the lavatory
and tucks it into the back of his waistband. At the dining room table, Bryan casually speaks about moving
to Paris and drops the address of the Albanian pimp-house and Macon's name. Isabelle naively says that
she herself knows Macon. Bryan then confronts Jean-Claude on selling protection and anonymity to the
Albanians and demands to know who Saint Clair is. Jean-Claude pulls out his pistol and aims it at Bryan,
angrily detailing the gap between his pay and his expenses. Bryan then tosses a handful of bullets onto
the dining room table and tells Jean-Claude that he has been behind a desk too long if he can't tell the
difference in weight between a loaded gun and an unloaded one. Bryan pulls his own pistol and shoots
Isabelle in the arm, saying, it's a flesh wound but that his next shot will kill her unless Jean-Claude
provides him with information on Saint Clair. Jean-Claude then goes into his office and uses his computer
to access police files that identify and locate Saint Clair. Bryan then tells Jean-Claude to tell his wife he is
sorry for shooting her and he then pistol whips the Frenchman to the floor.

Again posing as Jean-Claude, Bryan gains access to a party Saint Clair is hosting. Bryan discovers Saint
Clair is hosting a much darker "party" on a lower level. Bryan assumes the guise of a waiter and gains
access to a darkened room facing a wall of glass, one of a series of the same types of rooms that encircle
an open stage. On the stage are a young, drugged, scantily clad young woman and a handler. In each
darkened cubicle, a bidder presses a red button when they wish to bid. The auction ends and the girl is
led away. The auctioneer announces the last and best woman of the evening's auction. An American,
pure virgin; the girl is Kim. Bryan pulls a gun on the buyer in this darkened room and forces him to outbid
the others to purchase her. The bidding goes to 500,000, but, upon leaving the room with the buyer still at
gunpoint, Bryan is knocked unconscious from behind. He awakens suspended from a pipe just below the
ceiling. He admits to the Englishman, Saint Clair, that he is the last girl's father. Saint Clair says, "too bad.
It's business and she is sold already." He then orders his henchmen to execute Bryan quietly and leaves
the room. Despite being shackled to the overhead pipe, Bryan manages to break the pipe loose and
escape while killing the guards. Bryan meets the surprised Saint Clair standing at the elevator. Saint Clair
pleads unsuccessfully for his life by saying "it was just business" and telling him that Kim will be at a pier.
Bryan shoots him dead and sends the elevator up to the party. Bryan races to the the river, but misses
the large yacht onto which Kim and other veiled women have been hustled as it cruises down the river.
Bryan drives a stolen car against one-way traffic to gain position on a bridge, then jumps onto the ship as
it passes underneath. On board, an Arab sheikh lies on a bed in a robe as a group of women in veils are
led in. Bryan fights his way through the sheikh's guards and enters the bedroom, the sheikh has a curved
knife held to Kim's throat. Bryan takes aim and shoots the man in the head.
Back in the US, Kim is reunited with her mother. Lenore even hugs Bryan in thanks. Later, Bryan
mysteriously collects Kim and takes her to a very nice home. After he knocks, he takes a step back. Pop
star Sheerah opens the door and, over her shoulder, someone sits at a piano. Sheerah takes Kim by the
arm while saying she had heard Kim wants to be a singer, and tells her, "let's see what you've got."

Taken (film)
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Taken

French theatrical release poster

Directed by Pierre Morel

Produced by Luc Besson

Luc Besson
Written by
Robert Mark Kamen
 Liam Neeson
Maggie Grace
Leland Orser
Jon Gries
David Warshofsky
Starring Holly Valance
Katie Cassidy
Xander Berkeley
Olivier Rabourdin
Grard Watkins
Famke Janssen

Music by Nathaniel Mchaly

Cinematography Michel Abramowicz

Edited by Frdric Thoraval

EuropaCorp
M6 Films
Grive Productions
Production Canal+
company TPS Star
M6
All Pictures Media
Wintergreen Productions
EuropaCorp Distribution
(France)
Distributed by
20th Century Fox
(International)
27 February 2008 (France)
Release dates 30 January 2009 (USA)
Running time 90 minutes[1]

Country France[2][3]

Language English

Budget $25 million[4]

Box office $226.8 million[4]

Taken is a 2008 French action thriller film directed by Pierre Morel, written by Luc Besson and
Robert Mark Kamen, and starring Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Leland Orser, Jon Gries, David
Warshofsky, Holly Valance, Katie Cassidy, Xander Berkeley, Olivier Rabourdin, Grard
Watkins, and Famke Janssen. It is the first installment in the Taken film series.

Neeson plays a former CIA operative named Bryan Mills who sets about tracking down his
daughter after she is kidnapped by human traffickers for sexual slavery while traveling in France.
Numerous media outlets have cited the film as a turning point in Neeson's career that redefined
and transformed him to an action film star.[5][6][7][8][9][10] The film was met with mixed critical
response, but was a financial success, earning over $226 million at the box office.

Contents
[hide]

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Music
o 4.1 Track listing
5 Release
o 5.1 Box office
o 5.2 Critical response
o 5.3 Home media
o 5.4 Controversy
6 In other media
7 Sequels
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

Plot[edit]
Recently retired CIA field operative Bryan Mills attempts to build a closer relationship with his
teenage daughter, Kim, who lives with her mother, Lenore, and her wealthy stepfather, Stuart.
While working security at a concert with his fellow former CIA operatives, Bryan saves pop star
Sheerah from a knife-wielding assailant. Sheerah, grateful, offers to assess Kim's talent as a
singer. Before Bryan tells Kim about Sheerah's offer, she asks her father for his permission to
travel to Paris with her friend, Amanda. Bryan initially refuses, but relents after Lenore pressures
him. At the airport, Bryan is dismayed to discover the girls are actually following U2 during their
European tour, something Lenore knew but kept from him.

Upon arrival at Charles de Gaulle International Airport, Kim and Amanda meet a Parisian local
named Peter; his offer to share a cab is a ruse to learn their address. At the apartment, Kim
discovers that Amanda's cousins, who are supposed to chaperone them, are out of the country.
While Kim talks to Bryan on the phone, she witnesses Amanda being abducted by intruders from
the bathroom window. Kim complies with her father's instructions as Bryan records the incident.
As Kim is abducted, the unknown abductor picks up the phone and Bryan unsuccessfully tries to
negotiate with him, then threatens him. The only response is "Good luck" before the call is
terminated.

Sam, Bryan's former CIA colleague, informs him that, based on the recording, Kim was taken by
an Albanian human trafficking syndicate. Supplying Bryan with more information about the
syndicate, Sam also identifies Marko Hoxha as the man who replied the "good luck" phrase.
When Sam informs Lenore about the illegal operations of the syndicate, he also adds that on
statistical analysis, Kim will never be found if she is not rescued within four days. Bryan flies to
Paris using Stuarts private jet and, after investigating the apartment where the abduction took
place, he locates Peter at the airport. After a confrontation and chase, Peter is hit and killed by a
passing truck before Bryan can interrogate him.

After a snack break, Bryan meets Jean-Claude Pitrel, a former field agent for the French
Intelligence who now works a desk job in the same agency. Though deliberately unhelpful due to
knowing that Bryan will wreak havoc, Jean-Claude tips him of a district where prostitution is
rampant. With the aid of an Albanian-English translator, Bryan trails a construction site where
Albanians prostitute teens in a makeshift brothel. There he finds a girl with Kims jacket.
Fighting off the brothel guards, he escapes with the girl. Checking in at a hotel owned by an old
friend, he administers medication to the rescued girl.

The next morning, after Bryan speaks with Jean-Claude, the rescued girl tells Bryan about a
house where she met Kim. Bryan bluffs his way in and, after a brief negotiation and
conversation, he identifies Marko Hoxha, the kidnapper he spoke to on the phone. A fight
ensues, wherein Bryan murders all the gangsters, except Marko. Searching the house, he finds
several unconscious and dead captive teens, including Amanda, who died from a forced heroin
overdose. Using a makeshift electric chair, Bryan tortures Marko with applications of lethal
currents. Marko reveals that many virgins like Kim are a valuable commodity on the black
market. After Marko mentions of an auctioneer named Patrice Saint-Clair, whom Kim was sold
to, Bryan leaves him to die by electrocution. Later that evening, Bryan visits Jean-Claude for
dinner. When Jean-Claude refuses to give Saint-Clair's address, Bryan, upon discovering Jean-
Claude's corruption, coerces him to do so by threatening to murder his wife.

Bryan infiltrates Saint-Clair's mansion, where girls, including Kim, are being auctioned under the
guise of a party in progress. After Bryan forces a Middle Eastern bidder to purchase Kim, he is
captured but frees himself, killing Saint-Clair henchmen and forcing Saint-Clair to reveal where
Kim has been taken before killing him. Bryan races to a luxury yacht owned by a sheikh named
Raman. Jumping aboard, Bryan kills all the henchmen including the sheikh and rescues Kim.
They return to the U.S. where she is reunited with her mother and stepfather. Afterward, Bryan
takes Kim to see pop singer Sheerah for her first singing audition.

Cast[edit]
Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills
 Maggie Grace as Kim Mills
Famke Janssen as Lenore "Lennie" Mills-St. John
Leland Orser as Sam Gilroy
Jon Gries as Mark Casey
David Warshofsky as Bernie Harris
Holly Valance as Sheerah
Katie Cassidy as Amanda
Xander Berkeley as Stuart St. John
Olivier Rabourdin as Jean-Claude Pitrel
Grard Watkins as Patrice Saint-Clair
Arben Bajraktaraj as Marko Hoxha
Camille Japy as Isabelle
Nicolas Giraud as Peter
Goran Kosti as Gregor
Nabil Massad as Raman

Production[edit]
The film was produced by Luc Besson's EuropaCorp.[11] Besson and Morel had previously
collaborated on District B13.[12]in addition Morel had previously worked as a director of
photography previously for Besson.[12] Besson pitched the idea of Taken one night over dinner
and Morel immediately became attached to the idea of a father fighting to protect his daughter.
[12]
Neeson took the role, desiring to play a more physically demanding role than he was used to.
He expected the film to be a "little side road" for his career, expecting the film to be released
directly to video.[13]

Music[edit]
The score of the film was composed by Nathaniel Mchaly and released on January 27, 2009.[14]

Taken: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Film score by Nathaniel Mchaly

Released 29 January 2009

Recorded 2008

Genre Film score

 Length 45:50

Label Razor & Tie

Track listing[edit]

All songs written and composed by Nathaniel Mchaly except where noted.[15][16]

Taken (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

No. Title Length
1. "Opening" 0:52
2. "Change" (Written and performed by Joy Denalane featuring Lupe Fiasco) 4:12
3. "Permission to Go to Paris" 1:11
4. "To the Airport" 1:10
5. "The Concert" 0:53
6. "There's Somebody Here" 3:22
7. "Pursuit at Roissy" 1:07
8. "On the Rooftop" 1:40
9. "96 Hours" 6:01
10. "The Construction Site" 2:04
11. "Pursuit at the Construction Site" 1:25
12. "Saving Amanda" 1:14
13. "Escape From St Clair" 1:38
14. "Tick Tick, Boom" (Written and performed by The Hives) 3:24
15. "Hotel Camelia" 1:38
16. "The Auction" 1:38
17. "Pursuit by the Seine" 3:15
18. "On the Boat" 1:05
19. "The Last Fight" 1:52
20. "The Dragster Wave" (Written and performed by Ghinzu) 6:09
Total length: 45:50

Release[edit]
A trailer of Taken was released on June 20, 2008.[17] The film saw its release on February 27 in
France, April 9 in China, 26 September in UK in the year of 2008, while the film was released on
January 30 in United States and August 22 in Japan in the year of 2009.[18] The film was released
under the title of "96 Hours" in Germany, "Io vi trover" in Italy, "" in Russia.[18]

Box office[edit]

At the end of its box office run, Taken earned a gross of $145,000,989 in the North America, and
$81,829,579 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $226,830,568 against a production
budget of $25 million.[4]

On its opening day in the North America, the film grossed $9.4 million, scoring the best opening
day ever for Super Bowl weekend.[19] It went on to make $24.7 million during its opening
weekend playing in 3,183 theaters, with a $7,765 per-theatre average and ranking #1, which was
the second highest Super Bowl opening weekend, at the time, behind Hannah Montana/Miley
Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour ($31.1 million).[20] The film is also the highest grossing
among the Taken Film series in North America.[21]

The biggest market in other territories being South Korea, UK, France, Australia and Spain
where the film grossed $15.47 million, $11.27 million, $9.43 million, $6.28 million, and $5.46
million respectively.[22]

Critical response[edit]

Taken was met with mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 58%,
based on 168 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The site's consensus states, "Taken is
undeniably fun with slick action, but is largely a brainless exercise."[23] On Metacritic, the film
has a score of 50 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[24]

Richard Corliss of Time said the film "has nothing more on its mind than dozens of bad guys
getting beat up and another one turned into instant roadkill."[25] The Washington Post described
the film as "a satisfying little thriller as grimly professional as its efficient hero" and likened the
action to the Jason Bourne series.[26] Derek Elley of Variety described the film as a "kick ass,
pedal-to-the-metal actioner [...] that wisely doesn't give the viewer any time to ponder the string
of unlikely coincidences [...] the film has the forward, devil-may-care momentum of a Bond film
on steroids."[27]

Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times described the film's premise as "unintentionally silly at
times [...] Obviously, 'Taken' is not the kind of action film to spend much time worrying about its
pedestrian script or largely indifferent acting, so it's fortunate to have Neeson in the starring
role." Bryan Mills is characterized as "relentless attack machine who is impervious to fists,
bullets and fast-moving cars, he uses a variety of martial skills to knock out more opponents than
Mike Tyson and casually kill those he doesn't KO".[28]

CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, cinema audiences gave the film an
average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.[29]
Home media[edit]

Taken was released as "Taken (Single-Disc Extended Edition)" on DVDs on May 12, 2009 and
on Blu-ray Discs on December 9, 2014. The film also saw release of "Taken (Two-Disc
Extended Edition)" on DVDs and Blu-ray Discs on May 12, 2009.[30] As of 5 February 2015, the
film has sold 5,388,963 DVDs and 607,073 Blu-ray Discs and grossing $79,798,171 and
$10,069,116 respectively totaling $89,867,287 in North America.[31]

Controversy[edit]

Fraud case

In 2011, a self-proclaimed counter-terrorism expert who claimed the film was based on a real-
life incident in which his daughter was killed was convicted of wire fraud. William G. Hillar,
who pretended to be a retired Green Beret colonel, claimed to have spent more than 12 years
lecturing US government agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation on security issues.
However, records revealed he had actually been a radar operator in the Coast Guard Reserve
between 1962 and 1970, and had never been in the US Army. Nevertheless his website claimed
Taken was based on events involving him and his family. Hillar, who admitted the charges, was
sentenced to 500 hours of community service at Maryland State Veteran Cemetery. He also
agreed to repay $171,000 in speaking fees that he had received from various organizations to
which he had presented himself as an expert in terrorism and human trafficking.[32]